The Ghost of Despair
by shadow6116
Summary: Trying to ease his guilt one night,Harry ends up getting possesed by a vengeful spirit.With this ghost able to cause some real damage and just as uncooperative as Peeves,how will the angry soul be flushed out?Takes place during Ootp.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related._

Chapter 1

The Voice

Harry couldn't sleep. It was as simple as that.

Every time he tried to nod off, the image of Cedric dead and Voldermort rising out of the cauldron kept coming back to him. And if he did manage to close his eyes, he would have nightmares.

It was as simple as that.

At least that was what Harry told himself. He wished it _was _simple, but it wasn't. He felt that he was the cause of Cedric's death, and that he never should have asked him to share the glory. Worse yet, the rest of the Wizarding World didn't believe that Voldermort had actually come back, and thought Harry was a mentally unbalanced, attention-seeking kid. Then there was Umbridge. That old hag had to be the worst person in the world. And he had met Snape.

Harry heard something. He thought he was just imagining it, but slowly the sound got louder. Harry sat up and decided to try to make out the sound.

It sounded like singing. But it wasn't a regular human voice singing. No, it was much more than that. Though it wasn't phoenix song, it had the same ethereal quality to it. It was as if someone had taken his guilt and sadness and gave it form.

Harry slowly got out of his bed. Ron, Seamus, Neville, and Dean were still snoring away, as if they couldn't hear the song. Harry sincerely hoped that he wasn't hallucinating, and went over to his trunk. He got out his invisibility cloak and pulled it on. If he was to be sure that he wasn't going over the edge, then he would have to investigate the sound himself.

Harry went out of Gryffindor Tower, and went through the corridors, searching for the sound. It was hard; the sound seemed to be coming from every direction, but at least its volume would stay the same.

After a while the sound seemed to be getting louder. Harry hurried on, determined to find the source of the sound. He was sure that he was getting closer and closer to the source; with every step he took, the sound got even louder.

Finally the sound seemed to be going at its loudest, and Harry had to plug his ears, because it was _that _loud. Harry felt tired; he had been walking for quite a while, and stopped.

There was a flash of silver, and Harry felt cold.

Then he saw nothing but darkness.

G-D

_Well, how was that? R & R!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Taken

Harry shot up. He looked around, and saw that he was still in bed, still in the dormitory. The sun was shining brightly through the window, and his roommates had already left.

Harry suddenly recalled what happened last night. Had it all been a dream? He slowly got out of bed, and went over to his trunk and opened it. His invisibility cloak was still there. _Yeah,_ Harry thought as he closed his trunk and got dressed. _It _was _probably all a dream._

Then he remembered that today was Wednesday. Harry groaned. That meant that in the afternoon, he had double Potions with the Slytherins.

_Well, at least I don't have DADA today. _Harry thought.

G-D

Harry was in the common room, flipping through a textbook about potion ingredients. He had an essay he had to do for Snape on the properties and uses of Alihotsy. It was supposed to be two and a half feet, and much as he didn't want to do it, Hermione had insisted he do it or he would regret not doing it later on.

He looked out the window. It was dark out, and Harry longed to be in his bed right now, sleeping away. But he knew how much nagging he would get from Hermione when she found out about his half-finished essay, and he didn't need that.

He read the same passage over and over and didn't take in a word of it. Maybe he would take a nap; he would probably be able to take Hermione's nagging anyway.

His eyes slowly drooped, and the textbook slid out of his grasp and hit the floor.

G-D

_A figure was standing before him, and though it was too dark to make out the figure's features, Harry knew the figure was a girl._

"_Did you ever feel real pain? Pain that affects you both physically and mentally?" the girl asked. Harry nodded slowly._

"_Have your _friends _ever felt that pain? Have they ever been through what _you've_ gone through?"_

_Harry was about to say _yes_, but something made him stop and think. Memories flashed through his mind, and he found himself thinking about Ron and Hermione._

_They hadn't gotten a kick in the ribs from Dudley every day for ten years._

_They hadn't faced Quirrell/ Voldermort in first year._

_They hadn't fought off the basilisk or deal with the diary-Riddle._

_They hadn't seen Cedric die or Voldermort coming back._

_The girl was holding out her hand, and Harry took it. The girl pulled him into a hug, but Harry didn't protest._

_He didn't hear the girl whisper, "We're going to be the _best _of friends…." _

G-D

_Now why did I come here again? _Draco thought to himself as he looked around the deserted corridor. He would have been still in his bed if he hadn't gotten the strangest urge to go to the third-floor corridor.

He was just about to go back to his dorm when suddenly a hand grabbed him and clasped his mouth shut from behind. He struggled, but quickly grew tired. That was odd; he usually had a lot of energy to spare.

"Don't try to scream." a cold, female voice whispered into his ear. "No one would hear you anyway."

Now Draco felt very scared. He couldn't explain it, but the voice had a very eerie quality, and some outside force seemed to be messing with his mind.

"If you're wondering why I've taken you, let's just say I plan on using you." the voice continued.

"I'm just going to use you as a piece in a little game I'm going to play with the rest of the school. And when I'm done with you…. Well, you're not going to be so chipper anymore…."

G-D

Was that nice? Yes? No? R & R!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hostage Crisis

Parvati Patil couldn't sleep. She twisted and turned, but couldn't get some shuteye. She felt as if something was on top of her, and it was breathing down her neck. Finally she decided that she should try to get whatever was on her body off, and opened her eyes.

She saw the bandaged face of a mummy staring right back at her.

G-D

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!**_"

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was filled with these screams as students and staff woke up and found their worst fears right in front of them.

Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, was among the first to get a grip and blast their fears with their wands. After all, she wasn't a brave lion for nothing.

As her fear dissipated into black mist, she shook her head. From the looks of it, the school was having a mass panic attack. Minerva knew she had to get Albus and the rest of the staff if they were to find out what was causing all this.

She charged out of her office (still in her bathrobe; she would worry about her pride later), and saw a corridor full of nightmare monsters. There was a giant spider, a banshee, some sort of giant snake covered in spikes, and big black dog with red eyes were among the few night creatures lurking around.

Minerva sent a jinx flying to one of the beasts, and it toppled over. She continued to curse the monsters, but she didn't notice one that resembled a large puma sneak up on her. When it was right behind Minerva, it let out a snarl and brought down its paw at her. Minerva spun around, but the cat's reflexes were too fast for her to perform a shield charm.

But just an inch before the paw was to make contact, several curses from above Minerva's head hit the big cat, and it was blasted backwards.

Minerva looked over her shoulder, and saw that Albus and the other Heads coming towards her while hexing the other beasts.

Very soon, the corridor seemed to be completely clear, and Minerva said to the Headmaster, "Albus, just what is going on here? It seems as though the school is overrun with Dark creatures. Oh no… Albus, could it be… _him_?"

"No, my dear Minerva, I do not think that this is the work of Voldermort-" Minerva flinched-"But I don't know what the cause of all this mayhem is if it isn't him. We may be finding out very soon, however…."

G-D

After going through most of the castle and rescuing students, it looked like that all the night things were gone. But there was still one area of the castle that had not been checked out- the Great Hall, and two students that were still missing- Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.

G-D

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, a shadowy figure was leaning in close to a bound and gagged Draco, whose eyes were wide with fear.

The figure turned it head, revealing two emerald earrings with gold settings, and whispered, "You like my earrings? I guess you do, since they're classy enough for _rich snobs _like you. But that's not all.

"Before my mother died, she told me that they had _powers_, but it was only recently when I found out what they were.

"They could absorb fear and anxieties, and turn them into power I can use. I can even make those fears _real_, as evidenced by my little demonstration earlier.

" But the best part? I can control and alter emotions. After all, it's how I got you to come to me in the first place…. And it looks like our faithful audience has arrived just in time."

The figure stepped out of the shadows as the doors to the Great Hall opened and the staff came in, revealing the figure to be none other than….

G-D

"_Miranda Carter?!_" Minerva gasped. "But- but- it's impossible- how did you come back?"

Miranda Carter was a very ugly girl. She looked unhealthy, was way too thin, and her eyes were a sickly yellow color and stared in opposite directions. And over every exposed patch of skin, there were massive burn scars.

"Ah, so nice to see you again, _Professor_. After all Minerva, you were the one who got to _grow up_, while I had to die early at age _15_. But let's not dwell on the subject of my return, and why don't you enjoy the show?"

Miranda's earrings seemed to glint, and suddenly there was a crash from the above floor. Since that was where the students were assembled, half the staff charged up the stairs.

It was complete chaos: some of the students were snogging each other, but others were actually kissing the portraits, statues, or suits of armor. Other students were flinging jinxes at each other or using their fists and any object within reach. Still others were cowering in fear or breaking down in sobs, while some actually tried to pitch themselves out the windows. The half that came up quickly got to trying to sort out the distraught students and end the confusion.

Albus, part of the half that stayed down, asked solemnly, sadness etched on his face, "Why are you doing this, Miranda?"

"Why, Professor? You ask me _why_? Then let me ask _all of you_ a question; how many you have ever bullied someone without considering how the victim felt? Oh wait, that's right; _all of you! _

And have you ever felt _real_ pain? Like a dementor is hanging over your _every _step? What about the feeling of betrayal and loneliness? Wait, don't answer, I know what it is; _none of you! _

"SoI'm going to show you what that pain feels like, so you know what _I _felt like when you picked on me because you had nothing better to do!"

Suddenly Miranda vanished, leaving Draco there at the High Table. Albus and Minerva left the Great Hall to search for Miranda, since it was well-known you couldn't Apparate on school grounds.

Severus went over to Draco and got rid of the ropes and gag. Draco did not seem to be hurt badly, but Severus noticed something very off about Draco.

Draco's eyes were very wide and glassy, conflicting emotions swirling through the gray irises. And when Severus waved his hand in Draco's face, he received no response. Severus then cast _Rennervate _on Draco; still no response.

By this time the students had come down, many looking embarrassed or dizzy. "You!" Severus barked at some random student. "Go fetch Madam Pomfrey!"

The student dashed off, and Severus turned his attention to the blonde boy in his arms again. Though Draco was definitely not dead, he was in some kind of cationic state.

Severus sighed. Some dead girl coming back to life, students going berserk on each other, a member of his own House who needed serious medical attention, not to mention that the Potter brat was still missing…. Yep, he was going to need a _long _vacation as soon as this fiasco was over.

G-D

_R & R, people!_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Research

It was the next morning, and the Heads of House were assembled in the Headmaster's office. Albus was sitting behind his desk, a sad expression on his face, the usual twinkle in his eye gone.

"Albus," Severus said, "just who is this Miranda Carter? And why wasn't her death investigated by the Ministry?"

"I knew you'd ask that, Severus, since you are the only member of the staff, who knows about Miranda and her rather untimely death. And on a side note, her death _was_ investigated by the Ministry; Hogwarts was nearly closed because of it, but in the end we agreed to well, keep it quiet…."

Albus stood up. "I think this requires a look through the school's past yearbooks."

G-D

The staff was in the library, a yearbook with _1938-1939 _on a table.

Pomona opened the yearbook to a page titled _Hufflepuff House_.

"There," Albus said, pointing to a small girl in the front row. It was Miranda, looking just as ugly as she had when Severus had first seen her, though she didn't have burn scars, and looked more defeated than angry.

"Miranda Carter was a deformed girl, and because of this, she was often a victim of bullying." said Albus.

"Her personal life was also rather a tragedy. Though her mother was a witch (her father was a Muggle), they perished in a blaze that took place during the summer between Miranda's second year and third year. She was only 13 at that time.

"From that day forward, Miranda had an immense fear of fire. She even told me so herself when I asked her why she wouldn't perform any magic relating to fire (though I already suspected her phobia). Sadly, her fear also made her more prone to bullying than before.

Albus then pulled out a folder with _Carter, Miranda _on it. "Madam Pomfrey was kind enough to lend me Miranda's file, since she realized the gravity of our current situation."

Albus opened the folder, showing photos with different dates of Miranda with various injuries. On Oct. 1938, Miranda had gotten a split lip and some cuts on her face. On Jan. 1940, she had gotten a black eye. Plus, on April 1942, she had both of her arms in casts.

The photos seemed to be innumerable, until Albus finally pulled out a photo dated March 1943. Miranda was lying in a bed, but this time she looked more like she had the previous night; massive burn scars were all over her. She seemed to have breathing problems, and most of her hair and parts of her robes were singed off.

"It was another incident of bullying, but this was much more extreme than the others… Some students had set her on fire… they lost control though…. What we are looking at right now are the last moments before Miranda's death…. " Albus said.

"Poor girl, she doesn't understand that she's not the only one vulnerable to pain…." Minerva said softly.

The staff was silent for a while, before Severus got up and said, "Now that we are done looking through Miranda's _living_ life, why don't we try to find out _how _she came back to the living world."

G-D

Severus took down a book titled _Spirits and Poltergeists: A Guide to Otherworldly Beings _from its shelf. He flipped through it, skimming it for anything that might relate to the situation.

"Aha."

He laid out the book to the page he had found on the table so that the staff could see it as well.

"There." Severus pointed to an entry labeled _Ghosts of Despair_. The entry read:

_Ghosts of Despair, or Despair Ghosts for short, come into being when a witch/wizard dies from both extreme emotional and physical pain. There has only been one documented appearance of a Despair Ghost, so little is known about them. What is known, however, is that Despair Ghosts can only be seen or heard by people feeling extreme negative emotion, such as guilt or despair, hence the name. It is also known that while Despair Ghosts normally do not bother living beings, if the aforementioned depressed person comes too close to a Ghost, the Ghost can possess the person and gain powers it can use against the living world. What these powers are exactly is not known, but it is theorized that these powers may have a connection with the Ghost's life as a living being. _

"So that's it then." Severus said. "Miranda became a Despair Ghost, then possessed someone to wreak havoc on the school. But who though?"

"I think the answer to that question will not be needed, Severus." said a sickly sweet voice behind them. They turned, and it was who they suspected: Dolores Umbridge.

"The Ministry can send over someone to take care of our problem, so all this questioning about the situation will not be required." Umbridge had a nasty smile across her pouchy face.

"But Dolores, you saw what Miranda did with the students." protested Pomona. "She could very well do the same to your Ministry officials."

"No need to worry about that. I'm sure the Ministry can find a way around that little setback."

"But the Ministry was unable to prevent a breakout from Azkaban before, so how can they stop something like this?" squeaked Filius.

"_There is nothing to worry about. The Ministry will be able to take care of this._" Dolores said with a little impatience and anger in her voice. And with that, she turned on her heel and left.

"Ooooooookay." said Pomona. "So, just _who_ is Miranda possessing?"

"Well, it can't be the students we found… Miranda can't be at two places at once…." Filius said.

"We found almost the entire student population…. The only students missing were Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter…" said Albus.

"Draco is out; he was the hostage after all…. So that means…." said Pomona with growing dread in her voice.

"Oh no….." Minerva said.

It was very clear who Miranda had in her clutches now; Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

G-D

Severus was heading down to the dungeons, but his mind was on Miranda's words from the night before.

_How many of you have ever bullied someone without considering how the victim felt?_

He remembered a time when James Potter and his gang had hexed him yet again, leaving him on the floor while they laughed…..

_And_ _have you ever felt _real _pain? Like a dementor is hanging over your _every _step? _

When he was a child, he had to endure beatings from his own father, and even when he was a student he was vulnerable, and things just became worse when his mother had died when he was 14, and he had been unable to save her…..

_What about the feeling of betrayal and loneliness?_

He had never forgiven himself for calling Lily, _his _Lily, a Mudblood on that fateful day, and he had never felt more alone in his life. It didn't help when it was announced that Lily and James Potter were engaged…..

_Why was he protecting Harry Potter?_ he asked himself.

_Because even though Potter's a brat, part of Lily is still inside him. _A voice in his had answered.

_And, if you don't save Potter from that deranged ghost, you'll never see Lily's eyes again._

He broke into a run.

G-D

_Wasn't that nice? And the breakout Flitwick is referring to is Sirius' breakout, not the mass Death Eater breakout. This story takes place sometime before Harry forms the DA. R & R! _

_P.S. Sorry about the multiple pauses in this chapter!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Release

It had been a few weeks since the hostage crisis. While an outsider might say things had quieted down to a sufficient "normal" level, insiders would definitely say that things had _not _quieted down.

Draco was still in a catatonic state, and had been moved to St. Mungo's a few days ago. But the worst part was that about thirty other students (most of them fifth years) had also fallen victim to the coma, dubbed "the Fear Effect." This also had the unfortunate consequence of leaving most of the students panicky. There was a strange tingle in the air as well, and it was obvious that Miranda was feeding off the fear and storing it up for something big.

All this left many wondering, _When will this ever end?_

G-D

When the first scream was heard and the first monster was sighted, the denizens of Hogwarts knew that Miranda had struck once again.

The only question was, who was the hostage this time?

G-D

The staff rushed outside the castle into the night. Once again, they had fought their way through Miranda's monsters. Last time however, there had been more monsters, while this time there was only a few. While it was easy, the staff couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed and suspicious.

Miranda was definitely harder to find this time. With every passing minute, the tension in the air seemed to get denser.

"ATTACK! ATTACK, MY UGLIES!"

Well that certainly helped things.

The yell had come from the Forbidden Forest. Severus chided himself for not figuring out her hiding place before; the forest was dark, creepy, and spooky enough that fear was the most prevalent emotion in there.

As the staff entered the forest, Severus noticed that the forest, usually teeming with the sounds of the forest's wildlife, was now eerily quiet. Yet another sign of Miranda's influence on the forest.

They emerged into a large clearing, but nobody seemed to be there. They looked around, and then Minerva pointed a tree in the corner. There was Dolores Umbridge, gagged and bound to the tree, and looking very scared indeed. As much as they were compelled to leave her there, she was still a hostage, horrible as she was.

"Well, well, well, looks like everybody's here." Miranda appeared out of nowhere, clapping her hands and grinning. "Too bad you can't do anything."

Pomona stepped forward, but immediately she was held back by some invisible force. The rest of the staff went up to her and they each put a hand out to the air in front of them. Indeed, there was a barrier in front of them. They shot a few curses at the barrier, but they just bounced off.

Miranda was looking at them with a look of satisfaction on her face. "I'm guessing that you're feeling helpless, since you can't do anything… Just like me when I was picked on by all the other _kids_." She spat the last part out with venom. "But now you'll know how I felt, and it'll be an illuminating experience since all of you don't know how it feels."

"No," Severus said quietly, but just loud enough for the rest of the staff- and Miranda- to hear. "You're wrong. I already know how it feels." Albus, Minerva, Pomona, and Filius looked at him in surprise. They knew that he had been bullied by the Marauders when he was a boy, but he had never admitted his feelings about that. Until now, that is.

"Wh-what?" Miranda was also looking at Severus in shock. His hands still on the barrier, Severus noticed that it was falling back a little, so he pressed on.

"I know how you felt when you were bullied. I know what its like is when you aren't accepted by others. And I know what it's like when you're all alone…. Because I _have_ experienced those feelings…. Just like you, Miranda."

The barrier disappeared completely, and Severus went forward to Miranda, who did nothing at all. Somewhat reluctantly, Severus then pulled Miranda into a hug, who looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"They sniff were afraid. sniff They laughed and sniff stayed away. Do you _really _know sniff what that feels like?" Miranda pulled off her earrings and put them in Severus's open hand.

"Yes. I do."

Miranda grinned sheepishly. "I just wanted a friend." A blue glow covered Miranda's body, and when it disappeared, instead of the burned body of Miranda Carter, there was the body of an unconscious, but alive, Harry Potter. Looking down at the earrings he was still holding, he saw that they were now worn and rusted; a sign that Miranda was truly at peace now.

Albus had freed Umbridge from the tree, and he was looking at Severus with a small smile on his face. "We must get back to the castle now. After all, this little crisis is over isn't it?"

_Little? _Severus thought with a small snort. But he left the clearing with the rest of the staff, with a certain Harry Potter in tow, and much later, he would've sworn he heard a voice whisper "_Thank you._" into his ear.


	6. Chapter 6

Epilogue

A few weeks had passed. The victims of the Effect had managed to recover, though they were now very subdued. Even Draco Malfoy forgot to bully Neville Longbottom one day in Potions Class. Umbridge had attempted to press charges on Harry for assaulting a student and a teacher, but Albus pointed out that Harry had been possessed, and that according to Ministry law, anybody who performed crimes under the Imperius and/or any other means of force would be let off. Needless to say, Umbridge had not been happy.

All in all, life returned to normal at Hogwarts anyway. There was _one_ change, however….

G-D

Severus looked at the Gryffindors in disdain. Longbottom had blown up his cauldron yet again, and several of his Slytherins had to be sent to the Hospital Wing. And now those insufferable Gryffindors were acting up _again_. How he had managed to survive all those years of this, he didn't know.

Finally class ended. Severus watched as the students filed out of his class, putting down their potion samples on his desk as they left. Severus would be lucky if half of them didn't blow up in his face when he opened their bottles tonight.

Just then he noticed that Potter was still standing there. He had not left the class, even though he had already put down his sample. He also looked a bit nervous.

"What is it, Potter?" Severus snapped. He wanted that brat out of his sight _right now_.

"I… I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for saving me." And with that, Potter left.

Severus stared after Potter in disbelief. Then a small smile crept its way onto his face. Potter had actually _thanked _him for saving him from Miranda. Maybe Potter wasn't like his father as much as Severus had thought. And maybe, just maybe, from now on, things would get better….

**The End**

_Well, I think we have all learned a valuable lesson from this fic; that some problems are just too big to be ours alone…. And that Hufflepuffs will go crazy if you let them. All in all, I hope you have enjoyed this little story. Bye! _


End file.
